1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to an electronic animal training apparatus. More specifically, this invention relates to an electronic animal training apparatus that adjusts the intensity of the applied correction stimulus based upon the temperament of the animal.
2. Description of the Related Art
In its simplest form, electronic animal training involves the application of a correction stimulus to an animal in response to an undesirable behavior. A device designed to deliver a single intensity corrective stimulus cannot adapt to the situation and, therefore, is not always effective or is sometime excessive, as the case may be. For example, one correction stimulus may be too much for a timid dog or one with a low pain threshold. That same correction stimulus may not be sufficient to get the attention of a larger, more aggressive dog. In addition to the physical and mental characteristics of the dog, the situational characteristics are also relevant to the appropriateness of the correction stimulus intensity. For example, a dog in a high stress situation, where hormones such as adrenaline are active, may completely ignore a correction stimulus that would normally get the attention of the dog.
More sophisticated training devices offer the ability to manually adjust the intensity of the correction stimulus, which allows the trainer to adjust the training to suit the physical/mental characteristics of the dog. However, a manual adjustment cannot adapt to changes demanded by the situation at the time of the correction.
A further refinement to electronic animal training devices is to provide for an automatic adjustment of the intensity of the correction stimulus until the desired behavior is achieved. Generally, automatic adjustment of the intensity is desirable with unattended electronic animal training devices, such as bark control collars. Currently available bark control collars use a simple method of linearly increasing the intensity of the correction stimulus while the trigger behavior (barking) continues. Although ultimately effective, linear intensity increases are not always conducive to good training practices. Basically, the delay in reaching an effective intensity to deter the barking results in variable amount of time that the dog is permitted to bark without an effective deterrent. Accordingly, the dog does not quickly or easily learn that more than a few barks are unacceptable.